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The Magnificent Seven, a review by Antares

The Magnificent Seven





Year: 1960
Film Studio: The Mirisch Corporation, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Western, Classic
Length: 128 Min.

Director
John Sturges (1910)

Writing
William Roberts (1913)...Screenplay

Producer
Walter Mirisch (1921)
Lou Morheim
John Sturges (1910)

Cinematographer
Charles Lang (1902)

Music
Elmer Bernstein (1922)...Composer

Stars
Yul Brynner (1920) as Chris Adams
Eli Wallach (1915) as Calvera
Steve McQueen (1930) as Vin
Charles Bronson (1921) as Bernardo O'Reilly
Robert Vaughn (1932) as Lee
Brad Dexter (1917) as Harry Luck
James Coburn (1928) as Britt
Horst Buchholz (1933) as Chico

Review
       John Sturges had been directing movies since 1946; he would find his first success with Bad Day at Black Rock in 1951. By the latter part of the decade, the western proved to be his forte. Gunfight at the OK Corral, and Last Train from Gun Hill, had met with both critical and box office success. So in 1960 he returned to the genre that was his bread & butter. Yul Brynner had convinced United Artists to secure the rights to Akira Kurosawas Shichinin no SamuraiWanted: Dead or AlivePink Panther theme.

       At one time, I fell into the same trap that other cinephiles fall into; I unjustly compared this film to the original concept film. Over time I realized that this is a great film in its own right, and deserves its place in cinema history as one of the best westerns ever produced.


Review Criterion4 Stars - Historically important film, considered a classic.

(From The Magnificent Seven (1960) on August 15th, 2010)

Junior Bonner, a review by Jon

Junior Bonner
3 out of 5



Still recovering from being thrown from a bull called Sunshine, Junior Bonner is on his way home to join his family for the annual Frontier Days Rodeo. However, when he arrives, he finds his house abandoned and his father, Ace (Robert Preston) in hospital. Determined to prove that he still has all the makings of a champion, Junior challenges Sunshine once again but this time he is determined to beat the bull so that his father's dream of building a ranch in Australia can become a reality.

Junior Bonner is an uneven film that by the end might seem inconsequential, but you have to appreciate its considerable style, especially with some of the awesome touches Peckinpah brings and the great cast. On the other hand, the director did surprise me with occasional clumsiness, including the dated split screen titles that make it look like a TV movie and a cheesy freeze frame montage at the end.

But let’s focus on the good. Steve McQueen is great in this Autumnal, melancholy role and the chemistry with Robert Preston as his rebellious dad, Ace, is just wonderful. If you don’t know Preston, he looks like Joel McCrea and sounds like Burt Lancaster, with cheek to match either of them.

The dialogue is probably the best part of the production. It’s full of zingers, perfectly styled to the characters, yet has an understated realistic pitch. The whole thing has a laid back style; I liked how McQueen has rivals on the rodeo circuit, but they treat each other as casual friends. There’s no silly, predictable “villain” that McQueen has to beat. Oh, hold on. That is, apart from Sunshine. He’s the BFB...
The rodeo scenes are fantastic. Peckinpah’s use of slow motion and edits is peerless. While it started like a cheap TV film and might have descended into a pseudo documentary where the second unit just wandered around a real event getting stock footage, the tournament scenes have breathtaking power and lift it up a notch. Plus the lighter hearted “Milking” event is both very funny and impressively staged. Add in a classy cowboy barroom brawl, a lively cast, a poignant story and you have a passable couple of hours. And the film might keep coming back to you, despite its humble nature. Another overview I read claimed this was Peckinpah's favourite film of his own. While I think it is far from his best, I can well believe it. It has a good heart.

(From Jon's Alphabet Marathon 2010 on July 23rd, 2010)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Kolchak: The Night Stalker


The Ripper
A serial killer who is terrorizing women continually avoids capture, and Kolchak comes to believe that the murderer is none other than the original Jack the Ripper.

My Thoughts:
When I popped on this pilot episode the first thing I did was check the running time. This is a good example of how much commercials take up today compared to the '70s when this show aired. This episode runs for almost 52 min. Today's series runs for about 42 min. That is a good 10min. extra of story they got back then!

This is an old series that I blind bought because I thought it sounded good. I bought it four years ago... and yet to watch it all. I have purposely took my time on this show since only 20 episodes exist. It is a series I found I enjoy quite a bit. And this is a good pilot episode. But it is not a favorite episode. It is a little on the slow side. But it does have a fairly interesting story.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on February 24th, 2010)